UNIFEM Migration Programme wins AGFUND award - 17 Sept 2003

The UNIFEM Regional Programme on Empowering Women Migrant Workers in Asia has won a US$150,000 award from the Arab Gulf Programme for United Nations Development Organizations (AGFUND).

The AGFUND holds an annual International Prize for Pioneering Development Projects, now in its fifth year. The winners were announced by the Committee of the Prize at its meeting held in Riyadh under the patronage of HRH Prince Talal Bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, President of AGFUND.

“The award is a great acknowledgement of the efforts of all partners in the programme, but we must continue working to ensure that women migrant workers have real access to protection, resources and benefits,” says UNIFEM technical advisor and programme manager Jean D’Cunha. UNIFEM will use the award to financially support the programme.

Three prizes are awarded, with US$150,000 for the first category, $100,000 for the second category and $50,000 for the third, in addition to trophies and certificates of recognition to be accorded to the winners in a ceremony marking the occasion.

The UNIFEM Regional Programme on Empowering Women Migrant Workers in Asia won first prize in the category dedicated for projects implemented by international and regional organizations in the field of “Rehabilitation and employment of refugees and displaced people.” UNIFEM is implementing the project in five Asian countries, namely Jordan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Indonesia & Philippines.

The programme seeks to empower women migrant workers by promoting new policies, dialogue and collaboration between source and destination countries, and providing capacity building opportunities for migrant women themselves, especially in the area of savings and investment.

Some 110 projects were nominated for the 2003 AGFUND Prize reached, benefiting 46 countries in five continents. The nominations were evaluated by arbitrators who are experts in the fields of the Prize.

The winner of the second category prize, dedicated for NGOs, is the CHILDLINE Project, implemented in India by the CHILDLINE India Foundation, (CIF). The third category prize, for projects by individuals, went to the Appropriate Technologies for Enterprise Creation, implemented in Kenya by Dr. Martin Fisher and Mr. Nick Moon.

The AGFUND Prize Committee membership includes renowned world figures such as Sra. Mercedes Menafra de Batelle, First lady of Uruguay; Dr. Ahmed Mohammed Ali, President of the Islamic Development Bank; Professor Federico Mayor, Former Director-General of UNESCO and President of the Foundation for a Culture of Peace; Professor Muhammad Yunus, Founder and Managing Director of GRAMEEN Bank; and Dr. Y. Seyyid Abdulai, Director-General of the OPEC Fund for International Development.

The UNIFEM Regional Programme on Empowering Women Migrant Workers in Asia was initiated in 2001 and is preparing to enter its second phase, which will begin in 2004.

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